FEATURE Training Needs
Well timed training
Words | Maneesha Chawla
The way training needs are identified and the methods of delivery vary enormously
he variations are not just from country to country. Practices also vary from industry sector to industry sector. Some follow a ‘band-aid process’, where they supply training at the very last minute, when it’s not particularly effective. Others are well-oiled machines that forecast and deliver the training needs of each individual. Most, we suspect, tend to fall right in the middle. What all of them do have in common is the realization that training plays an integral role in their business and the focus on finding a way of carrying out best practices, often on a severely restricted budget.
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We set out to interview training consultants in different parts of the world to compare the way in which they assess training needs. Of course this is all somewhat anecdotal, but we did manage to
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get a feel for where training differs culturally and for which parts of the world are focusing on which sorts of training.
Janice A. Miller, in her training needs assessment paper, outlines the need for an assessment that is grouped into five phases: needs assessment, instructional objectives, design, implementation and evaluation.
Essentially, long before any training is provided, somebody must assess the ‘who, what, when, where and why’ of training. Not surprisingly, all of the people that we spoke with around the world agreed that there was the need to plan and forecast what would be needed and, importantly, budget for it.
Where we found the most difference was when it came to talk of soft and technical skills, classroom style teaching and one-
on-one coaching styles. Purnima Renjen, a Senior Manager based in San Francisco, has worked at Deloitte and Touche for the last 13 years. She believes the company she works with has got it right, saying, “Deloitte goes above and beyond, there are not many public accounting firms that have created universities to train their employees”.
She says the company focuses on two approaches. What you need to know to do your job and what you should know to be compliant with corporate policies, public regulations and certification. Each employee has a counselor who helps mentor them; they have to set learning goals and are then held accountable to ensure that they get the required training. Deloitte University in Texas, with an 800 room dedicated facility to train their staff from around the
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